rs 1747 
. R3 14 
Copy 1 



No. 45. 

GOVERNMENT OF 

DEPARTMENT OE REVENUE, AGRIC 


INDIA. 

TLTURE AND COMMERCE. 


FIBRES AND SEL:. 


Dated Simla , the 31ai Augist 1877. 


NOTIEICAT 


ON. 


In 1871 the Government of India offered a >rize of £ 5,000 to the inventor of 
the best machine or process for the preparation of the fibre of the Bohmeria 
nivea (popularly known under the names of Rhesa, Ramie, and China grass), and 
the terms on which fnachines would be admitted tl competition were widely notified 
in India, in Europe, and in America. Many persons declared their intention to 
compete, but ultimately only one machine was actually brought to the place of trial. 
The machine haying been carefully tested at Sahaianpur in the autumn of 1872, was 
found imperfect in some important respects, and the inventor was adjudged not 
entitled to the full reward. He was, however, presented with £ 1,500 in consideration 
of the partial measure of success he had attained after great perseverance. 

2. This machine has not since been adapted by the inventor to practical use, and 
no improved process of preparing the fibre of the rheea has been yet discovered by 
other persons. Meanwhile the dermrdAqg-rheeaijnonllmies a rid the conditions which 
induced the Government of India in 1871 to offer a prize remain substantially 
unchanged. 


3. His Honour the President in Council therefore'considers that.it is desirable to 
renew the offer, and it is accordingly hereby notified that a reward of fifty thousand 
Rupees will be paid to the inventor of the best machine or process which will separate 
the bark and fibre from the stem, and the fibre from the bark, of the Bohmeria 
nivea. 


4. A smaller reward not exceeding ten thousand Rupees will be given to the 
inventor of the next best machine or process, provided it is adjudged to possess 
merit and to be capable without difficulty of adaptation to practical use. 

5. What is required is a machine or process capable of producing, by animal, 
water, or steam power, a ton of dressed fibre of a quality which shall average in 
value not less than £ 45 per ton in the English market, at a total cost including all 
processes of preparation and all needful allowance for wear and tear, of not more 
than £ 15 per ton, laid down at any port of shipment in India and £ 30 in England, 
after payment of all the charges usual in trade before goods reach the hands of the 
manufacturer. The processes of preparation are to be understood to include all the 
operations required subsequent to the cutting of the stems from the plants in the 
field, until the fibre is in a condition fit to be packed for conveyance to the market. 


6. The machinery employed must be simple, strQng, durable, and inexpensive, 
and should be suited for erection in the plantations where the rheea is grown. It 
must be adapted for treatment of the fresh stems, as cut from the plant. The treat¬ 
ment of dried stems offers certain difficulties and the fibre prepared from them must 
moreover always be much more costly than the fibre produced from green stems. 
Except during the hot dry weather preceding the rains in Upper India (where rheea 
grows best), it is very difficult so to dry the stems that no fermentation or mildew 
shall occur. But during this season the stems are comparatively short and the crop 
poor and stunted, unless it is artificially irrigated, and such irrigation greatly increases 
the cost of cultivation. In the rainy season the plant is in fine condition, but at 














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this season it is almost impossible tc dry the stems in quantity without injuring the 
fibre unless recourse is had to artificial means of desiccation, which greatly increase 
the cost of the material. It is therefore obvious that the attention of inventors should 
be given to the discovery of a process for the treatment of the green stems. 

7. The trials will be held at Saharanpur in the North-Western Provinces, in 
the months of August and September 1879. Machines entered for competition should 
be placed in situ and be ready for work not later than the 15th August, the competition 
commencing on the next day. The judges will be appointed by the Government, and 
they will watch the whole of the trials. But the machines shall be worked and 
adjusted by the competitors themse’ves, and no person shall touch a machine without 
the consent of the inventor. 

8. The Government of India will provide proper shelter and accommodation 
at Saharanpur for all the competing machines as well as the motive power required. 
It will also pay for the transport from the sea-coast to Saharanpur of all machines up 
to the limit of one ton each, the freight on any excess weight to be defrayed by the 
owners. The present rate of freight by rail from Calcutta to Saharanpur is Rs. 3-10 
per maund or Rs, 98-11 per ton, anl from Bombay to SaMranpur Us. 4-1 per maund 
or Rs. 110-9 per ton. A free second class ticket to Saharanpur will also be given to. 
any person in charge of a machine, 

9. The owner or owners of the successful machine or machines shall not be 
entitled to receive the reward offered except on the following conditions, viz.-rr- 

(1) —That a complete technical description of the machine, illustrated by 

plans drawn to scale, shall be prepared and published (Government 
paying the cost) for the information of the public, 

(2) —That after the expiry of three years from the date on which the award is 

made, the public shall have the right of manufacturing similar 
machines, on payment to the owner of a royalty of 10 per cent, on 
the cost of each machine so manufactured. 

-Bh— All person s desirin g to compe te "under" the terms and on the conditions 

specified above are requested to make known their intention not later than the 31st 
December 1878, giving the following particulars - 

1. Name in full and residence, 

2. Profession or occupation, 

3. Number of different kinds of machines entered for competition. 

4. Brief description of each machine. 

Intending competitors will at the same time declare themselves bound (under 
penalty of disqualification of the competing machines and forfeiture of all claim to 
the Government reward) to conform to all rules which may be prescribed by Govern¬ 
ment or by the judges appointed by Government in connection with the conduct of 
the trials, 

All notices of intention to compete and applications for information should be 
addressed to the Secretary to tne Government of India, Department of Revenue, 
Agriculture and Commerce, Calcutta, 

11. A limited quantity of rheea will be grown in the Botanic Gardens, 
Calcutta, and persons desirous of testing their machines before entering them for 
public competition may obtain green stems in small quantities from the Superintend¬ 
ent of the gardens, through this Department, 

G. It. M. BATTEN, 

Offg. Secretary to the Govt , of India. 






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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 


0 018 446 449 4 


18 7 7 

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. 

DEPARTMENT OE REVENUE, 
AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE. 


FIBRES AND SILK. 


To 


NOTIFICATION. 


Do. 45. 



Dated Simla, the August 1877. 


Subject. 

Notifies the offer of rewards for the best machines 
or processes which will separate the bark and 
fibres from the stem, and the fibre from the 
bark of the Bohm.eria nivea. 






Govt, Central Branch Press, Simla.—No. 807 R. a A. & C.—31-S-77—2000. 





















